In several different industries and for a wide variety of applications, electrical connector designs are standardized on various different harnesses or on various different discrete ends of a particular harness. The need for standardization of electrical connectors for a particular harness design is particularly true in the automotive industry.
The electrical connectors for these harness assemblies have been proposed having various features to afford a secure mechanical and electrical engagement with a mating electrical connector or other mateable connecting device. In many applications, the connector includes numerous electrical terminals or contacts. Often, these connectors include housings having rows of terminal cavities. The housings are stacked together to form the connector. In some connectors, the terminals may be assembled into each housing before the housings are assembled together to build the connector. One problem with this type of connector is that the assembled connector must be constructed to a high degree of precision to assure proper alignment with a mating connector. Additionally, the proper installation of each terminal within a corresponding cavity in each housing must be assured.
Therefore, there is an unmet need to provide a stacked electrical connector with a terminal assurance mechanism that provides for a precise loading of terminals within cavities of the each connector housing and that includes features assuring a precise mating of each housing forming the connector.